Ian Harvey and Andrew Symonds both had fine matches

Symonds took 2-47 in 10 overs, bagging the key wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, and struck 88 runs.

He said: "I got a bit lucky at stages but it was an enjoyable night.

"You've got to have the best fielders in the right positions," he added - a reference to Ricky Ponting's stunning catch to remove Tendulkar.

Despite the impressive totals put up by both teams, Symonds insisted conditions were not easy for batting. He played and missed in the early stages of his own innings.

I think we need to look at our cricket a bit more Sourav Ganguly Indian captain

"It was swinging a bit, even Sachin missed a couple."

Winning skipper Ponting said: "It was a very good game of cricket. We fought back with the bat after being in trouble early on and we fought back well with the ball too."

Ponting was impressed with the pace of the wicket at the MCG, and was also pleased to cling onto the one-handed chance at mid-wicket that brought about the end of Tendulkar.

He said: "Any time you catch Sachin is a good one especially when he's playing like he is at the moment.

"We've picked up our fielding a bit but there's still a bit of room for improvement."

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, run out for 82 after taking his team to the brink of victory, said: "I think we need to look at our cricket a bit more and get things right next time."